Valentine's Day Special: Stamping with a Cork and Broccoli Salad Recipe

Let's face it, crafts rock. They can cheer up the gloomiest day. Even the smallest accomplishment can give you a boost when you're feeling low. Or in my case, when you're living through a historic snowfall!

Today I dipped into my basket of recycling supplies and pulled out a champagne cork. I'd wanted to carve them into my own stamps for a while and today was the day!

Here's how:

1. Create a simple template. I used a heart punch. You don't want to get complex!

2. Glue that to the flat edge of your stamp.

3. Use a craft knife and carefully peel away the excess cork. I found it worked best to slice into the outline of the image and then sort of flick away at the cork, pushing the excess AWAY from the design.

4. Sand the flat surface with an emery board or piece of sandpaper.

5. Test your image. You'll see if you need to remove more cork or clean up an edge.

6. Enjoy! I made the hearts that the pandas are holding, and the hearts on the index cards.

Now for the Broccoli Salad:

1 bag of broccoli salad pre-chopped mix from grocery store

1 C. carrots, chopped

1/2 C. shredded cheese (cheddar or Mexican will work)

8 slices of bacon, fried to crispy and cut with kitchen scissors into tiny bits

3 small packages of raisins

Dressing:

1 C. light mayo

1/2 C. sugar

2 T. cider vinegar

Mix all the broccoli, cheese, bacon, raisins and carrots together. Pour 1/2 of the dressing over your mix. Reserve the rest of the dressing for another salad. Enjoy!